Criminal

Where the defendant Massachusetts Department of Education has moved to dismiss a complaint filed by a plaintiff licensed school business manager, the motion should be allowed on statute of limitations as to some but not all of the counts in the complaint.

Where the defendant was convicted of possession of cocaine after a search of her residence, the conviction must be reversed because the introduction of certificates of drug analysis without any witness testifying in support was not harmless error.

Where a trial judge did not give a cautionary instruction related to unrecorded police interrogations, that was error despite the fact that the defendant refused to have a recording of his interrogation made.

Following the dramatic arrest of James “Whitey” Bulger last June, federal prosecutors in Boston indicted his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Greig, on one count of conspiracy to harbor a fugitive. (Federal prosecutors have indicated that they plan to seek a superseding ...

Where a trial judge did not conduct a trial on the subsequent offense portion of a defendant’s OUI charge, as required by G.L.c. 278, §11A, the judgment must be vacated, as is the finding as to OUI second offense, and the case must be remanded to the District Court for proceedings on that portion of the complaint charging OUI second offense.

Where, after unsuccessfully appealing his second-degree murder conviction in state court, the petitioner sought a federal writ of habeas corpus on the grounds that (1) the state trial court’s jury instructions were improper (2) prosecutors lost or destroyed potentially exculpatory evidence, (3) he received ineffective assistance of counsel and (4) evidence and testimony admitted at trial was highly prejudicial and denied him due process, the petitioner is not entitled to relief and accordingly, the petition is dismissed.

Where, after unsuccessfully appealing his convictions for rape and armed robbery, the petitioner now seeks a federal writ of habeas corpus, arguing that he is entitled to federal relief because (1) the trial judge gave an unconstitutional jury instruction defining reasonable doubt and (2) appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance, habeas relief must be denied because the grounds advanced by the petitioner were procedurally defaulted in the state courts.

Where a defendant has been convicted conspiring to violate the Hobbs Act, the conviction should stand based on evidence that he played a role in robbing a drug dealer who made a living taking crack from New York to New Hampshire for sale there.

Where a defendant has been convicted of possession of child pornography, transportation of child pornography via computer in interstate and/or foreign commerce and use of the internet in order to transfer obscene matters to an individual the defendant knowingly believed to be under the age of 16, reversals are warranted because the prosecution's case against him at trial extensively relied on improper testimony.